The Hunter and the Swallow
by Korpseman
Summary: The Good Hunter thought the hunt was over and he could return to the waking world. However, he soon finds that the world he awakens to is not the one he expects, and must learn to survive in this new land. Meanwhile, Ciri follows the path of a witcher and finds herself still as lonely as when she was on the run from the Wild Hunt.
1. Chapter 1

Chapter 1: A chance meeting

**(Disclaimer: I own nothing. If I did, then this would be cannon and that wouldn't be good for anyone)**

Dawn broke through the tree line; birds were chirping as they awoke with the sun. Within the forest sat a graveyard, long forgotten by man and elf. The forest had nearly reclaimed it, for it was littered with the broken remains of gravestones. In this sad, forgotten place sat an unexpected figure: a man dressed in black leather with a tricorn hat atop his head. By his side lay a curious assortment of items: this first, though the people of this land would not know it, was a pistol of some kind, the second was a large sword with bandages wrapped around the blade, and finally there was what looked like a saw wrapped in bandages.

The sun, finally reaching the graveyard with its light, struck the eyes of the strange individual. Blinking warily, the man slowly stood up to look at the sun, as if in awe. "Oh, the night was so very long. Dawn has broken at last" said the individual who looked like he was about the praise the very existence of the radiant sun. Tearing his eyes from the sun, the individual took in his surroundings, noting that his was very much not in Yharnam. "Is the hunt finally over?" he said to himself. Upon seeing the weapons, the individual, known as a hunter in Yharnam, gathered them up, holstering the pistol on his side and sheathing the sword on his back. Looking around further, the Hunter found a bag filled with ammunition, vials of blood, and other tools that would be useful for a hunter. Slinging the bag over his shoulder, the Hunter walked down the path leading out of the quiet graveyard, never once looking back.

* * *

Some Time Later:

It was midday when Ciri arrived in the town of Redwater. It had been a long morning, with her waking up at dawn and riding all morning with the intent of reaching the town as soon as possible with the hope of getting a warm meal and a contract. Patting the neck of her horse Kelpie, Ciri smiled and said, "Looking forward to a nice soft bed and a warm meal, how about you girl?". Kelpie just snickered in response.

Arriving at the inn, Ciri stabled Kelpie and entered the inn, immediately assaulted by the noise and the heat of the fire. Making her way through the crowd, Ciri arrived at the bar and waved down the innkeeper. Coming over after serving two other people the drinks, "What can I get for you miss?"

"A warm meal, a bed, and any knowledge on contracts for witchers will do".

"The first two I can provide, and witcher contracts are posted on the message board in the town center"

"In that case, I'll be back for the meal and bed after I get a contract then." With that, Ciri turned and left the inn, making her way to the town message board. Upon reaching the message board, Ciri paused at the peculiar sight. In front of her, looking at the message board, was a man garbed entirely in dark leather. From his back, she could see he wore a strange three-pointed hat and a long leather coat that hid much of his body. On his back was a sword that was partially clad in bandages and in his hand was a strange saw. As if sensing her stare, the man turned just enough to look at her, revealing his leather clad face, leaving only his hazel colored eyes exposed. "Do you want something from me miss?" His voice, softer than she expected, shocked her out of her reverie. "No. I was not expecting to see someone dressed like you in this town. You stand out." With that the stranger let out a hearty laugh. "I suppose I do, but so do you." The stranger stuck out his hand "The name is Jon, a Hunter of Beasts. And you are?"

"I'm Ciri, a witcher. I must say I have never heard of a 'Hunter of Beasts', certainly sounds like an interesting profession. Would you care to tell me about it?"

"Aye, and a bloody on at that. It's quite simple really: beasts prey upon men, and it's the job of the Hunters to… hunt them"

Ciri narrowed her eyes at the man, for several things that he said put her on edge. First, his role sounded like that of a witcher, but she had not heard of rival groups. Second, his accent was strange and nothing she had ever heard before. And finally, something about him felt off, like it was not from this world. Realizing that Jon may not be from this world, Ciri opted to follow him to see if she could learn more. "I… see. I take it you are looking for a contract on a monster like myself then?"

"Yes, but there is only one posted. Shall we work together on this hunt?"

Ciri agreed to the strange man's request, and the two set off towards the contractor, a farmer who lived on the edge of town, to negotiate a price for the head of the monster, and to find information on it. Upon reaching the farmer, Ciri was able to haggle for a raised price and learned that the monster had been attacking the farmer's livestock. Hoping to learn what the monster was, Ciri asked "Did you or anyone else see the monster? It would help us with killing it."

"Aye Madam Witcher, my son says he saw it. He says it looked like a lizard with wings and the head of a rooster. He ran off as soon as he saw it. Thought it would have chased him down and ate him if he stayed any longer."

"He likely would have been eaten. Your son was lucky. This shouldn't take longer than a day, we'll return with the monster's head. Until then, stay inside and don't go into the fields." With that Ciri and Jon left the house and made their way towards the field where the monster was said to be attacking livestock.

Turning towards Ciri, Jon sought to break up the uncomfortable silence as they walked. "I take it you know what type of beast this is then?"

"Yes, it sounds like a cockatrice, they can be quite dangerous if you are not careful. Local superstition is that their gaze can turn the living to stone, which is downright false. Their gaze is no more dangerous than that of an angry goose"

Jon chuckled. "Then I suppose we shall have to find a goose to see who has the scariest glare then"

Ciri laughed at the unexpected joke from her so far stoic companion. However, before she could reply they arrived at the field where the most recent attack had taken place.

Jon looked around, seeing only the freshly ploughed field and nothing to indicate the passage of the beast. "I take it you have a plan for finding or drawing out this beast then?"

Ciri nodded. "Yes, cockatrices prefer to hold their ground, so we merely need to draw it out then damage its wings to ensure it will not escape. As for drawing it out, we need bait of some kind. The problem is that the farmer likely will not want to sacrifice another of his livestock, so we need to find something else."

Jon looked pensive as he thought about which tools may help. "I may have a solution to the issue of bait." Reaching into his bag, Jon pulled out a glass vial which was filled with a liquid that was very similar in color to blood. "This is a pungent blood cocktail, known to attract blood crazed beasts. Back in Yharnam, it was quite effective. But I am unsure if it will work on this beast"

"Well, we may as well try it, we don't have much to lose and I am curious to see your methods of hunting"

"Very well." Jon walked to the center of the field and poured out the contents of the vial onto the ground. After placing the empty vial back in his bag, Jon made his way to join Ciri under the shade of some nearby trees. The wind soon picked up, carrying the powerful stench of the cocktail far and wide.

Seeing that Jon had settled in, Ciri turned to him and asked, "So how long have you been in this world?"

Jon started at the unexpected questioned. Stuttering for a moment, he replied "I… how do you know that I am not from some far away land? The world is a vast place and there are always new things to discover"

Ciri smiled at Jon's 'attempt' at explaining himself. "First, you said you were from a city called Yharnam, which does not exist on the Continent. I would have heard of it otherwise, especially since it produces a group that would be rivals to witchers like myself. Second, your reaction when I called you out gave it away. You are not a good actor. And finally, you have the feel of someone who is not from this world. It's faint, so I know you have been here for awhile now, but it is still there."

Jon had no answer to this at first for he just looked out at the field. After a while, he turned back to Ciri. "I suppose there is nothing to hide then. What do you wish to know?"

"Why are you here? How did you get here? What are your intentions?" Ciri rapidly fired off her questions.

Jon leaned back against a tree, looking pensive. "I have no ill will towards the people in this land or the land itself. I am unsure how I arrived hear exactly for I awoke in an old graveyard some two or three weeks ago. As for why I am here… I wished to end the hunt and the longest night. I… I… I am struggling to remember. The night was so very long, and the blood filled the streets. I learned some truth, but I can't remember it. It's on the edge of my mind, just out of my reach. You must think me as mad."

Ciri looked at Jon concerned. "No, well, maybe a little. Why don't you tell me about your world and I mine, and maybe you will start to remember?"

Jon was about to reply, but was interrupted by a screech in the air, followed by a reptilian shape descending on the field. Ciri drew her silver sword, Zireael, and quickly made her way across the field to the confused and now very angry cockatrice. Jon, seeing Ciri's quick reaction to the appearance of the monster, drew his saw cleaver and followed just behind her.

As Ciri drew close to the monster, she slowed down slightly growing concerned at what she saw, mainly that it was easily twice as large as a normal cockatrice which would make it difficult to kill. Crushing her doubt to focus on the fight, Ciri readied and ignited a grapeshot grenade and then teleported behind the cockatrice. Upon reappearing, Ciri quickly threw the grenade, where it landed under the left wing of the monster, eviscerating it. The cockatrice cried out in pain from the destruction of its wing and turned on Ciri with wrath in its eyes. However, in doing so the creature took its eyes off the charging hunter who had just entered melee range.

Jon, who had fallen behind after Ciri teleported to the beast, had finally reached it and prepared to fight it in the way only a hunter could. Seeing its exposed neck and side, Jon gave two quick swipes with his saw tearing away at the neck of the massive and scarred beast and showering himself in its blood. As it let out another shriek of pain, Jon vanished into mist and reappeared a couple yards away. The cockatrice, gaining a new target, lunged at the now reappeared hunter. Jon, startled by the beast's quick response, only managed to partially dodge the attack and was staggered by the lunge.

Ciri, seeing that her compatriot was about to get pecked to death by the monster, teleported in front of Jon and delivered a strong stab to the chest of the cockatrice. Staggering the cockatrice with her quick attack, Ciri heard a metallic click behind her and to her mild surprise, saw Jon holding a larger cleaver where his saw had been. Rushing past Ciri to the recovering monster, Jon delivered a powerful strike with his transformed weapon to the right wing of the cockatrice, severing it. The monster, mad with pain and unbalanced due to the loss of its wing, collapsed to the ground where Ciri finished it off with a stab through the eyes.

Ciri looked at the blood covered hunter and grew concerned. "Are you hurt Jon?"

Jon replied, "No, none of it is mine."

Satisfied that her companion wasn't about to die on her, Ciri began the gruesome task of removing the monster's head as proof of a contract completed. Seeing that Ciri was having a little difficulty cutting through the oversized cockatrice, Jon held out his saw to her "here, this might be easier than your knife." Nodding in thanks, Ciri took the saw and quickly cut through the rest of the monster's neck, severing the head. Handing the hunter's weapon back to him, Ciri picked up the head and the two made their way towards the farmer's house.

The walk was silent except of the sound of their footsteps, for both were trying to process what they saw the other do. Jon was the first to break the silence. "You fought well against the beast, though I was surprised by your teleportation. Is it related to your ability to tell that I am not from this world?"

Ciri turned her head to look at him but kept walking. "Yes, it is. Before we start this massive line of questioning, let turn this contract in, get food at the inn, and hold this talk in front of a warm fire over some ale. How does that sound?"

"That sounds like an excellent idea." Both the witcheress and the hunter fell silent once again, until the reached the farmhouse. Once again Ciri did the talking and received the gold for the contract, which she split evenly with Jon. The two then, once again in silence, made their way to the inn in the late afternoon sun, both preparing to give a long explanation to the other.

**AN:**

**So that's the end of the first chapter of this story, which I started on a whim but now will try to continue it to make something out of it. Constructive criticism is always appreciated. I have no upload schedule due to school, so sorry. I will try to keep these author's notes short to avoid inflating the word count**


	2. Chapter 2

Chapter 2: History and the Path

Upon reaching the inn, Ciri went to the bar to get food and drink while Jon secured an empty table in the back for the two of them to talk in private. Jon settled down on the side of the table closest to the wall and waited. As he waited, he watched the interaction between Ciri and the innkeeper, making sure she didn't try to leave. After a few minutes, Ciri approached the table carrying a serving of stew and ale for each of them. Jon removed his hat and the cloth covering his face, revealing it for the first time to Ciri. He accepted the offered food and drink and began to dig in for it was his first true meal in a long time.

Ciri was slightly taken aback by his appearance but did not show it outwardly. Jon had an appearance that Ciri would label as attractive, with a pale white face, hazel eyes and dark brown hair. Tearing her eyes away from him, Ciri too began to eat her meal, pleasantly surprised by how good it was. And so, the two sat in silence, each eating their meal, waiting for the other to break the silence, letting the tension in the air grow.

Jon finished his meal an put his spoon down, finally deciding to break the tension. "So. You said that you would tell me about your powers after we ate."

Ciri nodded. "I did, but it is a complicated and long tale."

"We have all night."

Ciri smiled. "I suppose we do." Ciri paused and looked away from Jon, gathering her thoughts. "My powers come from my Elder Blood, which comes from my distant relation to the Aen Elle Elves. It grants me the power to travel through time and space, which includes traveling to other worlds. Awhile back, when I was fleeing from my enemies, I traveled to many different worlds, which allowed me to tell if something was not from the world. It's a feeling of something being out of place, where the place is the world itself. It goes away if the person or thing spends a significant amount of time there."

Jon was silent, listening and contemplative, especially about the apparent part about blood. "It seems that I cannot get away from powerful blood. Since you have returned, I take it your enemies no longer pursue you?"

Ciri filed away that comment about powerful blood for later. "Yes, about a year ago I confronted them on the islands of Skellige, where me and my friends were able to kill them."

"I sense that is not all there is to the story."

"No, but it is my turn to ask a few questions. Don't give me that look, you will get your chance to ask. Now tell me, where are you from?"

Jon was silent for a moment as he gathered his thought. "The world where I come from doesn't really matter, except of the last city I was in: Yharnam. To know the full tale, I must first tell you of the background of Yharnam, or rather what I know of it. That damned city was built upon a large labyrinth built by an ancient civilization, which would be later known as either the Chalice Dungeons, or the more dramatic Tomb of the Gods as the church would come to call it. The Dungeons were first explored by the scholars of Byrgenwerth, who in them found chalices filled with blood that they should have left well enough alone. But they didn't, and brought the blood to the surface, where it was discovered that the blood had the power of healing. And so, the Healing Church was born, dedicated to the gods who left their blood in the chalices. They were able to use this blood to heal any wound and any illness, it was 'miraculous'."

Ciri was intrigued by the tale and listened intently. "I take it that there were problems with this 'blood of the gods' then?"

Jon nodded. "Not long after the blood was found, the Scourge of the Beasts began to spread throughout Yharnam. It struck seemingly randomly and with little warning. Old Yharnam was overrun and had to be abandoned to the beasts. A solution was found in the form of the Hunter's Workshop. They were individuals who would strengthen themselves with the blood of the Church and go out to hunt the beasts, culling their population. After the Workshop Hunters died out, the Healing Church founded its own branch under the command of Ludwig, whom brought the Yharnamites in to the hunts for additional manpower."

"So, these hunts were going on constantly then?"

"No. They hunts would only happen during a major outbreak of the Scourge. During such time the Church would wall themselves off and Yharnamites would barricade themselves indoors. Anyone caught outside during the night of the hunt would be killed along with the beasts. The nights of the hunt only ended with the end of the hunt. They could be a few days, a few weeks, or a few months. Day would not break until the hunt was ended, that was universal for all hunts."

Ciri was silent as she thought about the information given, especially the never-ending nights. It sounded like very powerful magic to keep a city in constant night, but none she had ever heard of. "And where do you fit into this story?"

"I came to Yharnam seeking treatment for a wasting illness. When I arrived, I was so frail from my illness that I could barely move. I was taken to one of the many clinics in Yharnam and there I signed a contract. In exchange for a blood transfusion, I would serve as a Hunter. Having no alternative, I signed it." Jon paused, took a shaky breath and continued. "I do not know how long the night was, but many Yharnamites I spoke to said it was the longest in living memory. I slew many beasts during the hunt and met many hunters in various states of insanity. I sought the source of the hunt, but there are patches in my memory. I know I achieved victory and found the source of the hunt, but I do not remember what I fought or what I learned about its nature. It feels like something is blocking my memories."

Ciri took in the tale that was told to her and one missing fact stood out to her. "How did you survive? You imply that you had no skill prior to coming to Yharnam and yet you said you became one of the most successful Hunters of the most recent hunt. How did you gain this knowledge so quickly? Or did the night go on for that long?"

Jon was silent as he contemplated Ciri's question, hesitant to answer. "It's not that I am against answering your question, it's that I am unsure if you would believe me."

"I faced down a multi-world ending threat and won, as well as face invaders from another world, and traveled to see many unique ones. I'm not against believing in some crazy shit."

Jon silently considered her answer and sighed. "I survived the night because I couldn't die."

"That's… not as out there as I expected. Explain."

Jon, surprised by Ciri's lack of disbelief, continued. "The contract I signed tied me to the Hunter's Dream. Upon death, hunters who dream return to the Hunter's dream, healed of the wounds that killed them besides a scar. I died many times during the hunt, more times than I could count. For every death, I got a little faster, a little stronger, and a little smarter, learning how my prey fought through shear trial and error. Hunters rarely receive training; it is do or die. And I died many times."

Ciri was silent as she contemplated this information. She had heard of immortal beings before, higher vampires and her father's recent adventures dealing with an immortal man coming to mind. "Not the most conventional immortality that I have heard of. Most of your fellow immortals just never die, with only higher vampires doing the whole 'come back to life' thing."

"I am not immortal anymore."

"What?"

"My contract has ended, so I no longer dream. I am no longer immortal."

"I see, so part of the contract was immortality then. How have you survived in this world then?"

"Correct. Through the skills, tricks, and tools I picked up in Yharnam. I didn't become too reliant on my ability to dream. I believe it is my turn to ask."

Ciri, annoyed that she didn't get all her questions answered, nodded. "Ask away."

"What is this multi-world ending threat that you spoke of?"

"It was known as the White Frost. It was an ever growing cold that spread across multiple worlds, destroying everything on them. With the help of an elven sage, I was able to travel to the source of the White Frost and destroy it. On the plus side, pretty much all my enemies and pursuers believed that I died during the destruction of the Frost, so that's something I no longer have to deal with."

"And who were these enemies and pursuers?"

"Well, the main ones where the Nilfgaardian Empire, the Wild Hunt, and the Aen Elle Elves. The Emperor of Nilfgaard wanted to marry me to secure the lands that I have claim to, the Wild Hunt wanted to use me to be able to travel to more worlds for conquest, and the Aen Elle want to breed me to produce elven children with the Elder Blood."

Jon chuckled darkly. "It seems that I am not the only one who has to deal with problems caused by blood."

Ciri smiled at the, admittingly poor, attempt at humor. She lifted her cup of ale. "A toast then. To blood cause more problems than it ever should."

Jon too lifted his mug. "Indeed." With that, both drank deeply from their cups.

Ciri put down her emptied cup. "I take it you are leaving tomorrow?"

Jon nodded. "Yes. I take it you are leaving as well?"

"Yes, I plan to make for Alverton to see if they have any contracts on offer. Are you heading that direction?"

Jon shrugged. "In truth I was planning on following the road to see where I end up. I have no map and no knowledge of the land."

"In that case, might I suggest that we travel together?"

"That sounds like an excellent idea. Shall we leave at dawn?"

"That sounds like an excellent idea." With that, both got up from the table and made their way to their adjacent rooms. "Good night Jon."

"Good night Ciri. May your dreams foretell a pleasant awakening." With that, Jon entered his room and made ready for bed.

Ciri, with Jon's odd phrase on her mind, entered her room and made ready for bed. Soon she climbed into bed and fell asleep shortly after, dreaming soundly of a pale red moon hanging low in the sky.

The Next Day:

Ciri woke the next morning feeling refreshed and ready for the day. As she dressed, she vaguely remembered her odd dream of a pale red moon hanging low in the sky. Thinking nothing of it, for it was just a dream, she left her room to see if Jon had already awoken. Not seeing him, Ciri grabbed an ale and breakfast from the innkeeper and sat down, wait for Jon to appear. After a few minutes, Jon appeared from his room dressed in all but his hat and face covering. Jon soon made his way over to Ciri after grabbing breakfast and ale for himself, he sat down across from her and began to eat quickly and quietly. Ciri quickly return to her food, eating in silence as the village slowly began to wake up outside.

Finishing their meals, both Ciri and Jon stopped by the innkeeper to buy supplies for the road, and then left the inn without fanfare and made their way to the stables. Upon arriving, Ciri saw Kelpie exactly where she left her and next to her was a brown mare that Jon made his way towards. "I didn't think you had a horse considering that you arrived only a few weeks ago."

"She belonged to a group of bandits that thought it would be a good idea to try to rob me. I showed them the error of their ways."

"I am sure they learned quite well then." The two traveling companions then led their horses out of the stable where they mounted up, and rode out of the town.

After riding for several miles and Redwater had disappeared behind them, Jon turned to face Ciri as they rode. "You mentioned yesterday that you were a witcher, and that they are similar to the Hunters. What exactly makes someone a witcher?"

Ciri took a moment to gather her thoughts before replying. "A witcher is a professional monster hunter. Taken in as children, potential witchers are given intense physical and mental training, as well as consuming mutagenic and alchemical compounds to alter their bodies to be able to fight monsters on an even playing field."

Jon tensed at the mention of transformations. "I see. How much did this process modify you?"

"I did go through the entire process, largely because the process and formulas were lost by the time I was taken in. Also, the process was never intended to be used on girls, so even if it wasn't lost, the process would not have been used on me."

Jon relaxed. "I see. Is that why you still look human then?"

Ciri's expression hardened. "All witchers still look human after the transformation. They biggest noticeable change is their eyes look like that of a cat. Witchers are NOT inhuman mutants."

"I see. Forgive me if I caused offence. After my time in Yharnam, I am… uncomfortable with transformations."

Ciri's expression softened. "Sorry, I shouldn't have been short with you. Most of the peasantry hate witchers instinctively due to the mutations. They see us as greedy, inhuman monsters who would take their children away in the night." Looking to change the subject of the conversation, Ciri's gaze turned to the sword on Jon's back. "Your sword, does it have a name?"

Jon turned his head back towards the road. "Not really, it was known as the Holy Moonlight Sword. It belonged to Ludwig, the founder of the Church Hunters. He had transformed into a beast and was blocking my path, so I put him out of his misery. In his last breaths, he gifted his sword to me."

"An interesting tale. What's it made of?"

"I am unsure, but considering its origins, I believe that it is made of siderite, a material that fell from the heavens."

"And what are its origins?"

"Well it's… it's from. I.. I am unsure. I remember that I did learn of its origins, but not what the origins are. Just like the rest of my missing memories."

Ciri looked at Jon with sympathy. "It's okay. I'm sure your memories can be recovered. My adoptive father lost his memories many years ago and he was able to recover them."

"That's good to know." Jon looked to the sky and saw that it was nearly noon. "Shall we stop for lunch? It is nearly noon."

"Sure." Ciri then pulled her horse over to the side of the road and dismounted next to the meadow they had been riding past, with Jon quickly following suite. The two quickly worked together to start a fire, with Jon gathering wood and Ciri gathering food. Once Jon started the fire, using the lighter he normally reserved for his molotovs, Ciri set a pan over the fire and started to cook the sausages. As they cooked, Jon pulled out their reserves of water, setting on waterskin down besides Ciri and keeping one for himself. As Ciri cooked, she asked "So how good are you with your sword?"

Jon shrugged. "It's hard to say. I lost count of the amount of times I died while using it, but I think I got decent at using it. Why do you ask?"

Ciri, having finished the sausages, served them on two plates, giving on to Jon. "I was thinking, a friendly duel after lunch could be fun. Even experts need practice."

"I suppose that could be fun. It has been awhile since I used my blade, although dueling is not something Hunters typically do. Shall we do this 'duel' with only blade? No powers or other tools?"

"Agreed, no powers or your tools." With that, both Jon and Ciri dug into their food, eating the simple meal quickly. After finishing his meal, Jon put away his plate and started to pack away the cooking supplies. Finishing soon after, Ciri put out the fire and the rest of the cooking supplies. Once the cooking supplies were put away, Jon drew his Holy Moonlight Sword and made his way into the meadow, waiting for Ciri to join him.

Ciri soon drew her steel sword and made her way into the field, eventually standing across from Jon with several feet between them. As she approached she raised an eyebrow at Jon's stance: he rested the sword over his shoulder, leaving himself unguarded, and his feet were position like he was walking. On top of that, on hand was dangling by his side, holding nothing but looking like it should be holding something. Shrugging of the admittingly amateurish stance, thinking that Jon was trying to lull her into a false sense of security, Ciri assumed a proper dueling stance and waited for Jon to make the first move.

Jon, seeing that Ciri was ready to begin the duel, began to analyze his options. He considered waiting for her to attack, but ultimately decided against it. He did not equip his Evelyn, as he did not wish to hurt Ciri, so parrying was impossible. In the end, Jon realized that his only option was to attack, so he began to slowly walk forward toward Ciri, wanting to both get into range and to see how she would react.

Ciri was confused by Jon's decision to walk towards her but did not outwardly show it. Ultimately, she decided to let Jon make the first strike, as she believed that Jon was trying to lure her into striking first, which would not have been good.

Jon, feeling that he was close enough, quickly and suddenly thrust his sword forward, hoping to surprise Ciri. However, Ciri had been expecting such a move and Jon was surprised when she easily deflected the blade to the side, putting him off balance.

Seeing the sudden opening, Ciri slashed with her sword, aiming toward her off balanced opponent's neck. It was her turn to be surprised when Jon rolled out of the way of the strike and end up a few feet away from her. Deciding not to give up the initiative, Ciri launched herself towards Jon, sending a flurry of blows his way. Jon for his part backed up quickly, trying desperately to avoid the savage and quick blows while clumsily blocking those that he could not avoid. This state of affairs could not last forever, and Jon stepped into a hole in the ground, knocking him completely off balance and onto the ground. Ciri, capitalizing on the state of her opponent, brought her sword to his neck. "It appears that I win the round Jon."

Jon looked down at the sword next to his neck. "I suppose you do. It's a good thing you don't want me dead."

Ciri laughed at Jon's poor attempt at a joke, and removed her sword from his neck while offering a hand. "Don't get your hopes up. If you keep up that attitude you will find yourself with many new cuts."

Jon accepted the hand offered to him, and was pulled up by Ciri. "What attitude? I have been nothing but polite."

The two companions made their way to the horses, and Ciri turned to Jon to continue the conversation. "That's exactly it. You act too stiff, like a nobleman. You need to relax more."

"I will take it under consideration Madam Ciri, The Witcheress" was Jon's playful response.

Ciri playfully shoved Jon to the side playfully, smiling and amused by his antics. "Very funny." The two companions soon reached their horses and mounted up, continuing their journey. "I hope you don't get offended by me saying this, but you are not very good with that sword of yours."

Jon nodded in agreement. "I concur and I supposed it was to be expected. I wasn't fighting skilled swordsmen in Yharnam, just beasts and as I said last night, I never received formal training. And when I did encounter maddened Hunters or those who actually had skill, I mainly fought with my saw cleaver and other Hunter tools."

Ciri was silent for a few moments, thinking. "If you want, I could teach you how to use your sword properly."

Jon turn to her, surprised. "Truly? I would happily accept, but do we have enough time before we arrive in Alverton?"

"We can keep traveling together after Alverton. That way we would have all the time in the world for you to learn."

"In that case, I accept. I look forward to learning under you, Master Ciri."

"Call me that again and I will teleport you into the ocean."

Jon sat up straight, instinctively fearing the ocean. "Understood. Threat heard and acknowledged."

Ciri smiled at the suddenly fearful Hunter. "Good boy." She then rode ahead slightly. Leading the way towards Alverton.

**Authors Note:**

**Hello, here is the second chapter. I probably would have written more but I just had 3 tests last week and I am still feeling dead from them.**

**As always, constructive criticism is a huge help, and if you have any questions I would be happy to answer them. Also, there were some formatting errors in Chapter 1 that I have gone back and fixed.**


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